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Talking about a Journey

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This listening exercise is about a woman talking about a journey her family makes. This is a multiple-choice listening exercise for Part 4 of the B1 Preliminary Listening Test. This gives you practice before you take the Cambridge English B1 Preliminary exam. 

journey

B1 Preliminary Listening Test Part 4 – Talking about a Journey

You will hear a woman, Vanessa, talking about a journey she made with her husband, Robert, and her baby, Ben.

 

QuestionsAudio Script

1. What did Vanessa and Robert decide to do last year?

2. Vanessa was worried that

3. How did Vanessa feel when they reached Singapore?

4. Why was Vanessa's father-in-law particularly helpful?

5. Because of spending so much time on the boat, the baby

6. What is Vanessa's advice for people sailing with children?


 

Interviewer: Good evening Vanessa. You’re going to tell us about your journey. Where was it from and to?
Vanessa: Well, my husband, Robert, and I had worked in Hong Kong for years. We got married there six years ago and had a baby there. But last year, we gave up our jobs and decided to sail back to England, with the baby.
Interviewer: And how long did it take you to get ready for the trip?
Vanessa: We had six months to buy a boat and make sure we had everything we needed. My friends didn’t believe I could live in such a small space, but I was happy about that. I was most anxious about
our health, particularly the baby, and I started collecting medicines in case we needed them.
Interviewer: And your first stop was Singapore?
Vanessa: Yes. The first part of the journey was the worst – we were sick all the time. I hadn’t expected to hit bad weather so soon. We’d no worries about the boat, which had already been around the world once. In fact, when we reached Singapore, I wasn’t sure about spending six more months on the boat and I considered flying home to England, but luckily decided not to. We spent six long boring weeks in Singapore waiting for the weather to improve.
Interviewer: And you were joined by your father-in-law?
Vanessa: On the next part of the journey, my father-in-law joined us with a friend of his, who’s a cook. It was wonderful to have a cook to prepare meals. This gave Robert and me more time. My father-in-law was very happy to take care of the baby while we sailed the boat.
Interviewer: And did the baby enjoy the trip?
Vanessa: He did, I think. He loved climbing up the steps in the boat. He spent the first year of his life at sea. While he was awake we played with him because it was dangerous to leave him alone. I’m sure this is why he wants us to play with him all the time now. I worried that he wouldn’t learn to walk, but he had no problems. He’ll only eat particular foods, but all children are like that, whether they’ve been on a boat or not.
Interviewer: And do you have any advice for other people sailing with children?
Vanessa: Children are happy on long journeys as long as they have plenty to do onboard. It’s dangerous otherwise. We just had one child with us, but it might be better with two or three who can play together.
Interviewer: Well, has anyone got any questions?

More exercises available for B1 Preliminary Part 4:

We add listening and speaking exercises in order to practise for this part of the B1 Preliminary test.

Part 3 - Gap-Filled Exercise

The B1 Preliminary Speaking test has four parts and you take it together with another candidate. There are two examiners. One of the examiners talks to you and the other examiner listens.

In addition, we add reading and writing exercises on a regular basis. Why not bookmark our site, so you can come back to practice anywhere or at any time of the day?

Part 1 - Read five real-world notices, messages and other short texts for the main message.

Part 2 - Match five descriptions of people to eight short texts on a particular topic, showing detailed comprehension.

Part 3 - Read a longer text for detailed comprehension, gist, inference and global meaning, as well as writer’s attitude and opinion.

Part 4 - Read a longer text from which five sentences have been removed. Show understanding of how a coherent and well-structured text is formed.

Write about 100 words, answering the email and notes provided.

The more words you encounter and understand, the broader your day-to-day vocabulary will become. Our word games and puzzles are an excellent way to help to reinforce spellings in your mind.
Especially helpful are exercises that are focussed on a theme or topic as these provide word retention practice so you can be confident to read, write, speak and listen successfully.

Cambridge English Examinations:

Cambridge English exams are designed for learners at all levels from the pre-intermediate level Cambridge English: Key (KET) to the very advanced level Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE). These exams give candidates proof of their ability to use English in a wide variety of contexts, relevant to work, study and leisure activities.

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